One of the BBC's exhaustive and typically exemplary adaptations of one of the great Bard's lesser known works performed by pretty much the cream of British theatre. The play, one of Shakespeare's most popular in the 19th Century, focuses on the relationships between Henry, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Cardinal Wolsey. To quote "'Tis better to be lowly born Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief, And wear a golden sorrow". find out more...

A typically exemplary BBC adaptation of one of the great bard's best known plays performed by pretty much the cream of British theatre. find out more...

Anthony Hopkins gives a masterful find out more...

Ran, Kurosawa's last great epic, is a Jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) depicting the fall of Hidetora Ichimonj, an ageing Sengoku-era warlord who abdicates as ruler in favor of his three sons. His kingdom slowly disintegrates as the sons struggle for power, murdering rivals and laying waste to the land, and Hidetora goes insane after watching his retainers slaughtered in an epic massacre, the centrepiece of the film. As the kingdom crumbles and rival warlords move in for the kill, the Ichimonji find out more...

Bassanio, a young Venetian, needs a loan of 3,000 ducats so he can properly woo Portia, a wealthy heiress. To get the necessary funds, Bassanio approaches his friend Antonio, a merchant. Antonio's money, unfortunately, is invested in merchant ships that are presently at sea; however, to help Bassanio, Antonio arranges for a short-term loan from Shylock, a Jewish usurer. Shylock, who has been humiliated on a number of occasions by Antonio decides to teach him a lesson by striking a frightening ba find out more...

Baptista has two daughters: Kate and Bianca. Everyone wants to wed the fair Bianca, but nobody's much interested in problem child, Kate. Baptista declares that he won't give Bianca away in a marriage until he's found a husband for Kate, so all the suitors begin busily hunting out a madman who's willing to do it and they find Petruchio. Petruchio marries Kate with a plan to tame her, while everybody else begins scheming to win Bianca's hand. One of Shakespeare's funniest plays benefits from the i find out more...

A typically authentic BBC version, ergo recommended for students of the play. find out more...

A fine BBC adaptation of one of the bard's lesser known and earliest comedies observing the inevitable conflict between friendship and love when two friends travel to Milan and, regardless of their filial obligations, become besotted. find out more...

This outstanding BBC production captures all the magical quality and dramatically changing moods of this great tragicomedy, one of the greatest of Shakespeare's works. Like all the Beeb productions this is the best version for study courses. find out more...

One of the world's greatest filmmakers, Kurosawa, adapts Shakespeare's Macbeth to 16th Century Japan - the loss in language being more than compensated for by the misty and forbidding locations and the clever incursions of Japanese culture. find out more...